Crows may not be the best looking bird or have the most melodious song, but they do have other qualities that make them standouts in the bird world.

“American crows are extraordinarily smart, ranking high on the avian brainy list,” said Quakertown-based bird expert John DeMarrais.

For instance, crows are extremely adaptable, they can work together, figure out how to solve problems, and they sometimes fashion and use tools.

A recent study from the University of Auckland in New Zealand tested the Aesop fable “The Crow and the Pitcher,” in which a thirsty crow drops pebbles in a pitcher to get the water level to rise so it can drink.

In the study, six New Caledonian crows showed a sophisticated understanding of water displacement. They dropped stones into a water-filled tube over a sand-filled one; they dropped sinking objects instead of floating objects; solid objects over hollow objects; and dropped objects into a tube with a high water level over one with little water.

They failed a couple more challenging tasks so researchers rated their success overall to be on par with children ages 5-7.

Family means much more to crows than it does to other bird species. Crow families are close knit, often staying together year round in family groups made of the breeding pair and offspring from the past several years.

“Brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces will help take care of young, which is very unique,” said DeMarrais.

The harsh “caw-caw” of crows is all I’ve heard from them but crows produce the largest number of vocalizations of most any bird. Aside from the familiar “caw-caw” call, American Crows “also have a large repertoire of rattles, clicks, and even clear bell-like notes,” wrote ornithologist and crow expert Kevin McGowan from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“There’s no question they have a language, that’s been proven over and over,” said DeMarrais.

And Hunterdon County is not just home to American Crows. We now have Fish Crows, a coastal bird that has been extending its range. “There never used to be a Fish Crow here, I mean never,” said DeMarrais.

Now he said you can find them along the Delaware River; they are common near Bull's Island State park. Fish Crows also nest at Spruce Run Reservoir.

Telling them apart by sight is quite hard because the Fish Crow looks similar but is slightly smaller. Listen and you’ll hear that their call is hoarser and more lowly pitched than the American crow.

McGowan said the Fish Crow’s common call is like a double noted "uh-uh” instead of a “caw-caw.”

Both American and Fish Crows are omnivores with a capital “O,” consuming a wide variety of food including grain, seeds, fruit, nuts, many insects, mice, fish, the eggs and young of other birds, carrion and garbage.

Not what you’d call a discriminating palate, but such a smorgasbord gives them a lot of options to keep their bellies full — a condition that any smart crow would want.